Technology, Change, and Learning in an On-Site, Online World

Submitted by Paul Signorelli on August 26, 2010 - 12:34pm

The chilling fact is, most training—around 85 percent—is wasted; it leaves learners doing exactly what they were doing before they completed a training session. Which, of course, is an incredible waste of time, money, and people for everyone involved. And the tragedy is that it doesn’t have to be this way.

We will attempt to create and nurture communities of learning, comprising well-educated staff who understand and enthusiastically embrace meaningful change.

Our first session, on September 16, will explore ways to creatively use familiar tools including Word and PowerPoint in conjunction with online resources such as YouTube, Google Docs, and SlideShare to creatively inspire learning that produces positive results. Our second session, on September 23, will take us on a major leap forward: we’ll discuss ways to apply what we do face-to-face to online settings through Skype, Google Chat, LinkedIn discussion groups, and other tools.

We’ll emphasize low- or no-cost tools. The goal is to inspire participants to seek innovative ways to serve their colleagues, their organizations, and those they ultimately serve. And if we leave with smiles on our faces and with less stressful reactions to the words “technology” and “change,” we will have taken step toward making our world feel a little less daunting and a lot more like home.